Revitalizing the DRC, one village at a time, restoring hope and dignity by empowering women and children who have been brutalized by war.

We are excited that the chair of our board is traveling to Bukavu next month to attend the our next sewing school graduation!! Dawn McMullan last traveled to DRC in 2015. Here’s a video from that graduation day — our graduates waiving their graduation certificates in joy.

We are now fundraising for our upcoming graduation to provide a sewing kit and sewing machine to each of our 40 graduates. Would you like to sponsor a sewing machine ($150), sewing kit ($25) … or both ($175)? Make a donation between now and Dawn’s trip on April 1 to be a part of this amazing, life-changing school. Donate here, through PayPal or UMCOR.

Today is #GivingTuesday! On the flip side of #BlackFriday, #SmallBusinessSaturday, and #CyberMonday, #GivingTuesday is a chance to kick off the holiday season by giving back. As you reflect on your many options today, we hope you will consider making a donation to Congo Restoration to continue the wonderful work you have helped us do for many years.

We have two areas of need we’re hoping you can help with on this #GivingTuesday. Just click here before midnight CST on Tuesday, Nov. 29, to help us get started on our exciting 2017 plans.

How much should you give? We have two urgent needs in Eastern Congo right now:

Christmas for our 30 orphans: A donation of $25 will provide a much-needed article of clothing for each of our children, plus a special meal of chicken and rice for the extended family that has taken this child. Add $10 for a total donation of $35 and you will have paid school fees for the rest of the year.

Pigs for our 2017 program and sewing machines for our January 2017 graduates: A donation of $150 will provide a sewing machine to one of our 40 sewing school graduates OR a pig for our new pig program. Upon graduating from our eight-month program, we help the women in our sewing school start their own businesses, allowing them to support themselves, their children, and earn respect within the village. Our next graduation is at the end of January. We are also starting a pig farm. Pigs are vital to Congo and to have a pig is to have a means to support your family. Congo Restoration has started a small pig farm in Eastern Congo and and hopes this farm eventually will help us become a self-sustaining organization.

We have a wonderful opportunity to ship much-needed items from the Dallas area to Eastern Congo via donated space in a shipping container. Here are all the details. We need items by July 7. Let us know if you have something to donate! Please email Dawn McMullan at dmcmullan@sbcglobal.net for more information.

First, a little background. In November of 2008, rebels attacked the village of Kanyola in Eastern Congo, a result of long-term conflict in the region, partly involving the 1994 genocide in neighboring Rwanda. When Congo Restoration Founder Gorethy Nabushosi returned to her home in Bukavu, Eastern Congo, in early 2009 — a decade after she fled with her family — she visited a hospital helping women had been raped in the conflict. The women asked her to go to see what had become of their village, Kanyola.

So Gorethy went. She found hundreds of children who had no families anymore. One boy, Mushaga, lost his parents and five siblings that day. He was 7.

Gorethy took 30 children, including Mushaga. And so began Congo Restoration.

Today, Mushaga and the 29 other children live with extended family members, supported by Gorethy and Congo Restoration. These 30 children have homes, a village of support — locally and in the United States through Congo Restoration! — go to school, and have regular health care.

By donating a pig to each of these families, we will provide them with long-term financial stability. It may be difficult to understand living in the United States, but owning a pig as a dream come true for these families.

Mushaga, now 15, with Congo Restoration Chair of the Board Dawn McMullan, in Bukavu one year ago. Mushaga is at the top of his class and plans to go to university.

In Congo, a pig means status and stability. Mushaga and the other children from Kanyola have seen far too little of that in their young years.

So hurray for pigs! And hurray for you!

Thanks for everything. Stay tuned for upcoming pig pictures as we get this program going!

We raised $2,368— our second biggest amount yet! A huge thanks to all the youth groups who came out to have fun and support children in the Congo. You guys rock! And an enormous shout out to the kids at Team Texas Youth Climbing Team. We couldn’t do it without you! Can’t wait to see everyone again next year!

Thanks to all the youth groups who attended: First UMC Allen, Greenland Hills UMC, Northpark Presbyterian, Ridgewood Park UMC, and Suncreek UMC. You guys are the best!